Fairgrounds hearing slated for BCS title game night as planned

Created 12/17/2010 - 4:06pm

Even though college football fans will be glued to the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 10, the Metro Council still intends to hold a public hearing on the future of the much-disputed fairgrounds that same evening.

Earlier in the week, the date had been changed to accommodate college football’s biggest event, but organizers are moving the hearing back to Jan. 10. The hearing will now begin at 5 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than previously scheduled.

“Based on the feedback we received, we have decided to go back to the originally planned date,” council members Megan Barry and Vivian Wilhoite wrote in a letter sent Friday morning to council colleagues.

Those wishing to speak at the hearing are to weigh in on two competing ordinances.

One bill, sponsored by nine council members, would keep the expo center and state fair at the fairgrounds property for another year, but would go ahead with the demolition of the racetrack to make way for a 40-acre park. The other, sponsored by Councilman Duane Dominy, would essentially keep the status quo at the fairgrounds, including the racetrack.